View source for Charters of Freedom

{{Short description|Collective term for the U.S. Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence}}
[[File:ArchivesRotunda.jpg|thumb|270px|The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the [[National Archives Building]] in Washington, D.C. where, in-between two [[Barry Faulkner]] murals, the original [[United States Declaration of Independence]], [[United States Constitution]], and other American founding documents are exhibited.]]
The term '''Charters of Freedom''' is used to describe the three documents in early [[United States]] history which are considered instrumental to its founding and philosophy.  The documents include the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]], and the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]].  While the term has not entered particularly common usage, the room at the [[National Archives Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] that houses the three documents is called the '''Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom'''.

The [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] preserves and displays the texts in massive, bronze-framed, bulletproof, bombproof, moisture-controlled sealed display cases in a [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] style room by day and in multi-ton bomb-proof vaults by night.<ref name="Wood">Wood, Gordon S., [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1997/aug/14/dusting-off-the-declaration/ Dusting off the Declaration], The New York Review of Books, Aug 14, 1997</ref>

The Charters of Freedom are flanked by [[Barry Faulkner]]’s two grand murals, one featuring [[Thomas Jefferson]] amidst the [[Continental Congress]], and the other featuring on [[James Madison]] at the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]]. Along the Charters of Freedom is a dual display of the "Formation of the Union", including documents related to the evolution of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] between 1774 and 1791, including the [[Continental Association|Articles of Association]] (1774), the [[Articles of Confederation]] [[Perpetual Union|and Perpetual Union]] (1778), the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] (1783), and [[First inauguration of George Washington|Washington's First Inaugural Address]] (1789).<ref name="autogenerated1">National Park Service, [http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/constitution/history.htm Signers of the Constitution: Text and History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012111809/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/constitution/history.htm |date=2012-10-12 }} Books on line series, viewed September 18, 2011.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Herbert Putnam, 2-28-24 LCCN2016827008.jpg|thumb|alt=Librarian of Congress [[Herbert Putnam]] at the opening of the Charters of Freedom Shrine, February 28, 1924.|Librarian of Congress [[Herbert Putnam]] at the opening of the Charters of Freedom Shrine on February 28, 1924]]
Librarian of Congress [[Herbert Putnam]] collected the Declaration and Constitution from the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] safes and brought them to the [[Library of Congress]] in a mail wagon.<ref name="NationalArchivesPressKit">{{cite web |title=Press Kits: Charters of Freedom Re-encasement Project |url=https://www.archives.gov/press/press-kits/charters.html |publisher=National Archives |access-date=30 June 2022 |date=August 15, 2016}}</ref> Putnam requested funds to allow the documents to be put on display so "might be treated in such a way as, while fully safe-guarding them and giving them distinction, they should be open to inspection by the public at large".<ref name="NationalArchivesPressKit"/>

On March 12, 1922, $12,000 ({{Inflation|US|12000|1922|fmt=eq}}) was approved and [[Francis Henry Bacon]] was appointed to design a shrine to house the documents.<ref name="NationalArchivesPressKit"/> The two parchment documents were turned over to the [[Library of Congress]] by executive order, and on February 28, 1924, President Coolidge dedicated the bronze-and-marble shrine for public display of the Constitution at the [[Thomas Jefferson Building]], the library's headquarters.<ref name="NationalArchivesPressKit"/> The parchments were laid over moisture-absorbing cellulose paper, vacuum-sealed between double panes of insulated plate glass, and protected from light by a gelatin film. Building construction of the Archives Building was completed in 1935. The documents were moved from the Library of Congress in December 1941, and stored at the U.S. Bullion Depository in [[Fort Knox, Kentucky]], until September 1944. In 1951, following a study by the [[National Bureau of Standards]] to protect from atmosphere, insects, mold and light, the parchments were re-encased with special light filters, inert helium gas and proper humidity.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

Since 1952, the Charters of Freedom and the Freedom Shrine have been displayed in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building. Visual inspections have been enhanced by electronic imaging. Changes in the cases led to the documents' removal from their cases in July 2001, preservation treatment by conservators, and installment in new encasements for public display in September 2003.<ref>Since 1987, inspections were enhanced by an electronic imaging monitoring system developed for NARA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. In 1995, conservators noticed changes in the glass encasements of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Glass experts from Libby-Owens-Ford (the original manufacturer of the encasement glass) and the Corning Glass Museum identified signs of deterioration. Both the glass experts and the National Archives Advisory Committee on Preservation recommended that the Charters be re-encased by 2002 for document safety. (NARA website)</ref><ref>National Archives publication, [https://www.archives.gov/about/history/building-an-archives/building.html Archives building history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106200738/http://www.archives.gov/about/history/building-an-archives/building.html |date=2012-01-06 }}. Viewed August 19, 2011.</ref><ref>The Archives were set up by [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in 1934. It keeps 1-3% of government documents to be kept forever. These are over 9 billion text records, 20 million photographs, 7 million maps, charts, and architectural drawings and over 365,000 reels of film. The monumental Archives Building was inadequate by the 1960s, so new facilities were built in College Park, MD. Work on electronic archives progresses. Fitzpatrick, Laura., [https://web.archive.org/web/20090523230122/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1900055,00.html A Brief History of The National Archives], Thursday, May 21, 2009. Viewed August 19, 2011.</ref>

===Declaration of Independence===
{{main|Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence}}

===Constitution===
{{further|Printing of the United States Constitution}}
At first there was little interest in the parchment object itself. [[James Madison]] had custody of it as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] (1801–1809) but having left Washington DC, he had lost track of it in the years leading to his death. A publisher had access to it in 1846 for a book on the Constitution. In 1883, historian [[J. Franklin Jameson]] found the parchment folded in a small tin box on the floor of a closet at the [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building|State, War and Navy Building]]. In 1894 the State Department sealed the Declaration and Constitution between two glass plates and kept them in a safe.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

====Original errata====
During its first century, the parchment "Copy of the Constitution" was not directly viewed for public purposes, and most of the penned copies sent to the states are lost.<ref>National Park Service, [http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/constitution/history.htm Signers of the Constitution: Text and History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012111809/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/constitution/history.htm |date=2012-10-12 }} Books on line series, viewed September 18, 2011. Although there is a case of textual examination by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and others in 1823 for reference in a political dispute over punctuation due to the many copies and editions available. The Archives also holds an original parchment of the Bill of Rights, "differing only in such details as handwriting, capitalization, and lineation" with those sent out to the states, few of which survive.</ref>
	
On inspection of one of the remaining copies held at the National Archives, there is an apparent spelling error in the original parchment Constitution in the Export Clause of [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 10: Limits on the States|Article 1, Section 10]] on page 2, where the [[possessive pronoun]] ''its'' appears to be spelled with an apostrophe, turning it into ''it's''.<ref name="mis">[http://www.usconstitution.net/constmiss.html Misspellings in the U.S. Constitution]. U.S. Constitution Online.</ref> However, the letters ''t'' and ''s'' are connected, and the mark interpreted as an apostrophe is somewhat inconspicuous; different U.S. government sources have transcribed this phrase with and without the apostrophe.<ref>Transcription using ''it's'' with an apostrophe: [http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html "The United States Constitution"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129091027/http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html |date=2010-01-29 }}. [[U.S. House of Representatives]].</ref><ref>Transcription using ''its'' without an apostrophe: [https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm "Constitution of the United States"]. [[U.S. Senate]].</ref>

The spelling ''Pensylvania'' is used in the list of signatories at the bottom of page 4 of the original document. Elsewhere, in [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 2: House of Representatives|Article 1, Section 2]], the spelling that is usual today, ''Pennsylvania'', is used. However, in the late 18th century, the use of a single ''n'' to spell "Pennsylvania" was common usage — the [[Liberty Bell]]'s inscription, for example, uses a single ''n''.<ref name="mis"/>

===Bill of Rights===
George Washington had fourteen handwritten copies of the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] made, one for Congress and one for each of the original thirteen states.<ref name="bill of rights-cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/19/bill.of.rights|title=FBI recovers original copy of Bill of Rights|author=Frieden, Terry|publisher=CNN|access-date=April 25, 2008|date=March 19, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409163029/http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/19/bill.of.rights/|archive-date=April 9, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> The copies for Georgia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania went missing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/BOR-faqs.pdf|title=Bill of Rights FAQs|publisher=National Constitution Center|website=constitutioncenter.org|access-date=February 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231203/http://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/BOR-faqs.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The New York copy is thought to have been destroyed in a fire.<ref name="bill of rights-new york">{{cite web|title=Background on the Bill of Rights and the New York Ratification of the Bill of Rights|url=https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2007/nr07-33.html|year=2007|access-date=July 28, 2008|publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923015250/http://archives.gov/press/press-releases/2007/nr07-33.html|archive-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Two unidentified copies of the missing four (thought to be the Georgia and Maryland copies) survive; one is in the National Archives, and the other is in the [[New York Public Library]].<ref name="bill-loc">{{cite web|title=Primary Documents in American History: The Bill of Rights|publisher=The Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/billofrights.html|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225051926/https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/billofrights.html|archive-date=February 25, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the Bill of Rights|url=https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/history-bill-of-rights.html|access-date=2023-02-23|website=Revolutionary War and Beyond}}</ref> North Carolina's copy was stolen from the State Capitol by a Union soldier following the Civil War. In an FBI sting operation, it was recovered in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncdcr.gov/press-release/treasures-carolina-stories-state-archives-opens-oct-24|title=Treasures of Carolina: Stories from the State Archives Opens Oct. 24|publisher=North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources|website=ncdcr.gov|access-date=February 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225005652/http://www.ncdcr.gov/press-release/treasures-carolina-stories-state-archives-opens-oct-24|archive-date=February 25, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bill of rights-north carolina stolen copy">{{cite web|url=http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/north_carolina_bill_of_rights.htm|title=The U.S. Marshals Service Takes Possession of North Carolina's Copy of the Bill of Rights|publisher=U.S. Marshals Service|access-date=July 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508032114/http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/north_carolina_bill_of_rights.htm|archive-date=May 8, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The copy retained by the First Congress has been on display (along with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence) in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom room at the [[National Archives Building]] in Washington, D.C. since December 13, 1952.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/12/13/a-homecoming-for-six-pages-of-parchment/|last=Parkinson|first=Hilary|title=A homecoming for six pages of parchment|date=December 13, 2011|publisher=The National Archives|access-date=February 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201540/http://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/12/13/a-homecoming-for-six-pages-of-parchment/|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1941, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2009/1215/Bill-of-Rights-Day-what-Obama-says-about-it |title=Bill of Rights Day: what Obama says about it |author=Grier, Peter |date=December 15, 2009 |work=Christian Science Monitor |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209162104/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2009/1215/Bill-of-Rights-Day-what-Obama-says-about-it |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1991, the Virginia copy of the Bill of Rights toured the country in honor of its bicentennial, visiting the capitals of all fifty states.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19910918&id=oxUhAAAAIBAJ&pg=1371,4927894 |title=Bill of Rights Tour Opens in Kansas City |date=September 18, 1991 |work=The Nevada Daily Mail |access-date=July 11, 2013 |via=[[Google Books]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423225838/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19910918&id=oxUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u9kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1371,4927894 |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Formation of the Union documents===
The "Formation of the Union" display contains documents related to the evolution of the U.S. government from 1774 to 1791.

====Articles of Association (1774)====
{{main|Continental Association}}

====Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (1778)====
{{main|Articles of Confederation|Perpetual Union}}

====Treaty of Paris (1783)====
{{main|Treaty of Paris (1783)}}

====Washington’s Inaugural Address====
{{main|First inauguration of George Washington}}

== Preservation of the Charters of Freedom ==
[[File:James_West_looks_for_water_vapor_on_encasement_of_the_U.S._Constitution.jpg|thumb|[[Langley Research Center]] researcher James West looks for the first signs of water vapor condensation in the encasement of the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] in April 2008]]
[[File:NASA_mini_cooler_on_encasement_of_the_U.S._Constitution.jpg|thumb|The mini-cooler used to determine the relative humidity of the atmosphere in the encasement of the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]]]]
In 1952, the Charters were sealed in specially prepared airtight enclosures of tinted glass filled with humidified helium to protect the documents,<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=NASA - NASA Helps Preserve Our Nation's History|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/releases/2002/02-033.html|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.nasa.gov|language=en}}</ref> along with 12 sheets of paper custom-made by the [[National Bureau of Standards]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=NOVA {{!}} Saving the National Treasures {{!}} A Conservative Approach|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/charters/conservative.html|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref> However, in the late 1980s, archivists began to notice signs of deterioration in the Charters.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-08-15|title=A New Era Begins for the Charters of Freedom|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2003/fall/charters-new-era.html|access-date=2021-01-04|website=National Archives|language=en}}</ref> Micro-droplets of liquid and tiny white crystals were forming (in a process known as [[crizzling]]) on the surface of the protective glass, and it was feared that they might continue growing if left unchecked,<ref>{{Cite web|title=NOVA {{!}} Transcripts {{!}} Saving the National Treasures|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3206_charters.html|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref> and could be a sign of unexpected moisture inside the enclosure.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Street Journal|first=June KronholzStaff Reporter of The Wall|date=2002-07-03|title=America's Cornerstone Documents Get Touch Up -- and New Container|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1025638264964111560|access-date=2021-01-04|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

In 1998, [[Langley Research Center]] researcher [[Joel S. Levinee]] was asked by the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] to form and lead a team to identify the precise cause and origin of the crystals, without opening the encasements, if at all possible.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=NASA Destination Tomorrow - DT11 - Charters of Freedom|url=http://www.dvidshub.net/video/179373/nasa-destination-tomorrow-dt11-charters-freedom|access-date=2021-01-04|website=DVIDS|language=en}}</ref> Additionally, his team was asked to try to answer the following:

# Had the helium gas used to protect the Charters leaked out of the hermetically sealed encasements?
# Did chemically corrosive air (with its variety of acids, humidity, and trace elements of ozone) leak in?
# What was the relative humidity in the encasement atmospheres?

In order to ensure reliability of his methods and measurements, Levine decided to split his team into three groups, each of which would work independently of each other.<ref name=NASA>{{Cite web|editor-first=Katie|editor-last=Lorentz|title=NASA Uses Mini Freezer and More to Solve Big Whodunit|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/science/chartersoffreedom.html|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.nasa.gov|language=en}}</ref> Two of the teams would use non-invasive measurement techniques to study the atmosphere through the glass encasement, while the third team would determine the chemical composition of extracted samples from each case. All of the teams would be made completely unaware of the others’ methods and findings until the very end, to ensure complete scientific independence. Ultimately, all teams produced very consistent results.<ref name=":6"/>

One method employed by Levine's task force was the use of [[laser spectroscopy]], which non-invasively measured helium and relative humidity using advanced technology originally developed by NASA to measure trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere, and chemical impurities and moisture levels in wind tunnels.<ref name=NASA /> Another method employed by the second team was the use of a "mini-cooler," or [[Chilled mirror dew point hygrometer|dew-point hygrometer]],<ref>{{Citation|title=Test Method of Measuring Humidity with Cooled-Surface Condensation (Dew-Point) Hygrometer|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1520/d4230-02r07|publisher=ASTM International|doi=10.1520/d4230-02r07|access-date=2021-01-04|url-access=subscription}}</ref> which cooled an extremely small, localized portion of the glass encasement, and measured the resulting condensation to determine interior humidity.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20110014933|access-date=2021-01-04|journal=NASA Tech Briefs, June 2005|date=June 2005 |last1=West |first1=James W. |last2=Burkett |first2=Cecil G. |last3=Levine |first3=Joel S. }}</ref> The third team directly measured the gas content when the encasement was opened in March 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20040086703|access-date=2021-01-04|website=ntrs.nasa.gov|date=January 2004 }}</ref> All three methods showed nearly identical measurements, confirming that the results were legitimate.

Levine's team presented their findings to [[NARA]] in 2002. They ultimately discovered that the helium atmosphere in the hermetically sealed encasements contained significantly more water vapor than previously believed. Levine said: "There is nearly twice as much water vapor in the atmosphere around the documents as there should be. Too much water vapor in a closed system like an encasement can cause the glass to chemically decompose, which will lead to the deterioration of the documents."<ref name=":6" /> The elevated concentration of water vapor reacted with the encasement glass, resulting in the leaching of alkaline material from the surface material, which formed into the tiny white spots seen in the encasements. The cause for this increase in water vapor was eventually tracked back to the [[Vellum|sheepskin]] backing paper, which soaked up excess moisture on the day the Charters were originally sealed in the 1950s, during an unusually humid week. Once the Charters were sealed, the backing paper slowly released the excess water vapor it had soaked up, causing the internal humidity to rise.<ref name=":7" />

In 2002, in an effort to better preserve all three documents, the Charters of Freedom were removed from their original encasements and placed in newly constructed, hermetically sealed encasements in an argon atmosphere with a relative humidity of only 25 to 35%.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2006-05-01|title=Erratum|journal=Journal of Heredity|volume=97|issue=3|pages=NP|doi=10.1093/jhered/esj039|issn=1465-7333|doi-access=free}}</ref>

"The U.S. Constitution is one of the most important documents in the history of the world. It was an honor and a privilege to be asked to perform this research," said Levine. "We're happy we were able to apply technology, originally developed at Langley for atmospheric science, remote sensing, laser spectroscopy and wind tunnel measurements, to ensure the future stability of the Charters of Freedom."<ref name=":6"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Space-Age Technology Peeks At American History|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990318040710.htm|access-date=2021-01-04|website=ScienceDaily|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Founding Fathers of the United States]]
* [[Signing of the United States Constitution]]
* [[Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
* [[Timothy Matlack]], inscribed the original U.S. Declaration of Independence
* [[Jacob Shallus]], inscribed the original U.S. Constitution
* [[William Lambert (writer)|William Lambert]], inscribed the original Bill of Rights
* [[Syng inkstand]], used by delegates to sign both the Declaration and the Constitution

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters.html The Charters of Freedom] at the [https://www.archives.gov/ U.S. National Archives]

{{Constitution of the United States}}
{{United States Declaration of Independence}}
{{Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union}}
{{Continental Association}}
{{American Revolutionary War}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:National Archives and Records Administration]]
[[Category:United States documents]]